Fattening Ensures Livelihood Improvement for Farmers
Ato Mengaw Kindie, 35, lives in Shina Tsion kebele, Libokemekem woreda. He is married, and a father of 3 children. He is grade 5 complete and his wife W/ro Nigsite is grade 3 complete. He was working hard on agriculture to fulfill his livelihood expenses by renting lands and working off farm activities. But, he was in trouble to fulfill his food consumptions and other basic expenses. They used to lead their family’s life by renting land to plough and planting rice, and oat. Besides, he used to engage in daily laborer to cover living costs.
In the meantime, one of ORDA-Ethiopia`s project, Integrated community Development Project (ICD), began to implement in Libokemekem Woreda in nine kebeles, including Shina Tsion kebele. The Program has four dimensions: livelihoods (through value chain loans and irrigation scheme building), WaSH, health and nutrition and institutional capacity buildings as cross cutting intervention. Hence, Ato Mengaw kindiye was targeted by the project.
When he joined the project, he got training on cattle fattening value chain and money management. Then as the project requirement, he prepared a business plan in cattle fattening value chain activities. By judging the business plan, the project facilitated loan amount ETB 30,000 to him through ‘Tikedmalech’ Shina Rural Saving and Credit Cooperatives (RuSaCCO) in September 2021.
At the first, he bought an ox with ETB 25,000 in the first round and started fattening. By applying the skills gained from the training and supports from livestock experts, he fattened the ox for 3v months. Ato Mengaw sold the fattened ox by ETB 40,000, and able to get a net profit of ETB 12,500. In the same way, in the second and third round, he bought oxen by ETB 25,000 & 28,000 and sold ETB 48,000 and 80,000 respectively. Therefore, he gained a net profit ETB 20,000 from the second round and ETB 42,000 from the third round. This profit was generated from one ox per fatting period. As once he understood this profitable business, he sustainably practices fattening by keeping seasons. In 2023, he also bought two oxen by ETB 48,000 and ETB 45,000 and sold them by ETB 250,000.
He branched out his income generating activities to crop trading. In 2022, he purchased and stored 30qt of rice, and from the sale, he got a net profit of ETB 30,000. In 2024, currently, he has stored 200qt of oat which costs ETB 2,600,000, and he is waiting for a good market price. Ato Mengaw also bought two rice processor machines, coasted him ETB 500,000. Additionally, when he reached better income, he bought land at a cost of ETB 1.5 million at Woreta town for housing.
Ato Mengaw said, “This level of change would have not seen in my life, if ICD project had had not bring this opportunity. I have achieved all of my dreams. I am leading food secure family through this business. The paid the loan on time. I will also scale up my business and keep continuing.” “I thank ORDA Ethiopia and Glimmer of Hope for their close technical and material support in due course.”
The project gave training for 4,791 beneficiary farmers on value chains of garlic, onion, potato, shoat rearing, cattle fattening, poultry and other income generating activities and facilitated loans ETB 63,638,600 for 4,047 households (HHs) to participate in value chain activities since 2019 and they improved their livelihoods. After they got loans, 4,047 farmers engage in value chain activities. For instance, farmers engaged in garlic earned an average income of birr 68,728.16 in 2019 and Birr 121,825 in 2021. The same too for onion value chains gained ETB 26,985.62 in 2019 and 98,410 in 2021 per HHs. In shoat rearing, farmers earned ETB 169,545,000 from sale of born shoat off springs, and in cattle fattening project beneficiaries earned average income of birr 15,000- 40,000 per HHs per one round.
To enable farmers to cultivate twice a year, the project also constructed four small scale irrigation schemes which benefited 493 HHs. Moreover, to deliver safe drinking water and to keep hygiene and sanitation of project beneficiaries, it constructed 95 water schemes which benefited 23,016 people.
“The Project has brought livelihoods improvement to our woreda residents. Beneficiary farmers improved their livelihoods by engaging in irrigation and value chain activities like onion production and cattle fattening. They saved money in bank, educate their children well. Hence, farmers lead better life than government employees. I suggest the project to be scaled up to other kebels in our woreda,” said Mihret Adisu, Agriculture Office Head Representative of Libokemekem Woreda.